Needs Assessment of Pediatric Palliative Care from the Viewpoint of Pediatricians and Pediatric Nurses in Iran

Pediatric palliative care defined as any intervention that focuses on relieving suffering, slowing the progression of disease, and improving quality of life at any stage of disease is rather a new concept in Iran's health care system. This study aims at needs assessment of delivering pediatric palliative care from the viewpoint of pediatric nurses and physicians. 

211 pediatricians and pediatric nurses participated in this descriptive study. A self-administered pre-tested standardized questionnaire was used as the study material. Needs assessment of delivering pediatric palliative care was investigated through 28 Likert questions mainly on three domains including National, Family and Child (scores ranging from 28 to 140). To confirm the items on the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis was used. Mean scores of each domain was compared using Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis. Correlations were studied through Pearson Correlation Test. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 21.

Overall score of necessity for delivering pediatric palliative care was 130.43. The item "Considering ethical issues while contacting the family" had the highest score (4.4±0.28) in the Family domain." In two other domains, National and Child, the items " Trying to have a peaceful death in the late stages of life " and " To benefit equally from palliative care" had the highest scores respectively (4.2±0.52 and 4.1±0.4).

The results of this study revealed the necessity of delivering pediatric palliative care in Iran. Additionally, considering ethical issues in palliative medicine and providing justice-oriented care were indicated as important subjects in this area. In the end, a pediatric palliative care model was designed based on the total score and the items of the questionnaire.